Road To Redemption
by xcontagiousx
Summary: Ken has a lot to make up for the mistakes he's made in the past. But gaining the other digidestineds' trust is not as easy as it seems and Ken struggles to keep faith. Set after 'Genius of Evil' and carries throughout season 2. Warnings: Swearing and some self-harm. Non-Yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Road To Redemption

Description: Ken has a lot to make up for the mistakes he's made in the past. But gaining the other digidestineds' trust is not as easy as it seems and Ken is slowly losing faith.

Ratings: T for violence, swearing, and some trigger warnings. Some self-harm and depressing themes.

Disclaimers: I do not own Digimon or any of its affiliated characters, nor do I own any of the plot line. This is a darker take on Season 2, focusing on Ken's place after 'Genius of Evil' and carries on throughout the remainder of the season.

...

Ken sighed as he entered his small bedroom, glancing wearily at his laptop screen. A tiny squeak came from atop his bunk and Leafmon appeared, watching him.

"What's wrong Ken? You don't look very happy," he chirped sadly at his partner. Ken just shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess I just ate too much," he answered quietly.

"That doesn't sound like you."

He shook his head in agreement. "I don't know. Mama and Papa are still worried about me. Three months of running away does seem to have that affect on parents. I just…I didn't want to worry them anymore," He finished, looking up at his baby digimon.

He yawned and rubbed his eyes slowly.

"Something tells me its bedtime," Leafmon squeaked again, bouncing excitedly on Ken's pillow, drawing a small smile from the boy.

Seeing the tiny quirk of the lips was enough to put Leafmon at ease for the time being. Ken was clearly still holding strong to his mistakes as the Digimon Emperor and the critter knew that he still blamed himself harshly for the crimes he committed.

For the first few days after Ken had broken free from the evil reign, he had taken refuge in his room and cried. He had cried so hard that his eyes became red and swollen and in those few days he had dropped some considerable weight that he was just beginning to put on again.

So Leafmon understood the worry that Ken described his parents of having. It was the very same that he felt. Ken was extremely fragile and it was going to take a long time to pick up all the broken pieces.

"I think you're right Leafmon." Ken changed into his pajamas and slipped quietly under the covers. "You would think that with all of the sleep I've had in the past few days, I would be wide awake."

Leafmon bounced on the pillow next to his head and nuzzled his cheek affectionately.

"I think you still need to give yourself more time."

Ken exhaled slowly as Leafmon's words ran through his head. For a baby digimon, he sure was smart. "Maybe you're right…"

They fell into a comfortable silence and Ken slowly felt a calm sleep overcome him. The warmth of Leafmon was right next to his ear and his eyes began to flutter close.

"Hey Ken?"

"Hmm?" The indigo-haired teen mumbled, trying to fight the fog that had settled in his mind.

"Are we going to go back to the digital world?"

Ken's eyes snapped open, the fog cleared away. He turned on his side so he could look at Leafmon. He was scared. Scared to see the disappointment in his digimon's eyes.

He knew Leafmon longed to go back but he wasn't sure if he could face those demons just yet. When he found Leafmon's eyes, the baby digimon was looking fondly at him, understanding and compassion in his big eyes.

Ken felt his chest tighten and he pulled the tiny creature into his arms and held him there. Leafmon seemed to know exactly what he wanted to say even though he couldn't get the words out and he nestled right beneath Ken's ribcage.

More silence enveloped the room and soon the two partners starting succumbing to sleep once more.

"I love you, Leafmon," Ken mumbled, tightening his grip around the small digimon as if he were scared he was going to disappear again.

"I love you too, Ken," Leafmon answered, cutting the quiet once more before they fell asleep together. "And I'm never leaving you…"

...

Click. Click. Click.

Ken shifted in his sleep restlessly. It had been one of the first nights that he had not had nightmares and he figured it was because of how close his digimon was to him. So close he could feel Leafmon's steady heartbeat.

Click. Click.

He groaned as a bright light cut through the darkness and he slowly opened his eyes and sat up, carefully avoiding waking the sleeping digimon next to him.

The light was coming from his laptop.

Click. Click.

And the clicking…

"Who are you?!" Ken demanded, wide awake now as he stared at the white haired stranger perched at his desk. It was clearly a woman wearing a strange purple and red hat that reminded Ken of witch hats that he had only ever seen on Halloween night.

"Sweet dreams, Kaiser?" A woman sneered, meeting his eyes.

"Ken, what's going on?" Ken glanced down and tucked Leafmon to his chest protectively.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my room?" He demanded, his heart racing.

"Such a shame really. You had so much potential."

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't remember?" She mocked, placing a gloved hand to her heart. "It doesn't matter now, does it Emperor?"

Ken felt his hands tremble violently. "I am not the Digimon Emperor anymore!"

"Even if you were, you'd still be just as useless. But I suppose there's not that much harm done. You've left us plenty of control spires to continue on our way."

Ken stiffened at the mention of the evil black towers. "What are you planning to do?"

"You'll just have to see now, along with all those other digidestined brats." She said bitterly. Then she cackled. A loud, screeching noise that made Ken's heart seize momentarily.

There was a flash and for a split moment, Ken witnessed her body transform, six more appendages sprouting from her abdomen and yellow fangs curling over her lips. Then she was gone and the screen to his laptop turned black again.

Leafmon peeked out from underneath Ken's arm, noticing his partner's shaking. "Is she gone?" He asked, snuggling Ken's hand in comfort.

The teen nodded slowly, pondering over the strange things she had said. What wasn't he remembering? And what did it have to do with his, no, the Digimon Emperor's control spires? And more importantly, what was she planning…

"And hopefully she's not coming back."

...

Ken barely caught anymore sleep for the remainder of the night. His mind was working at breakneck speed trying to decipher what the woman had meant.

It scared him. The menace and meaning behind the words made him tremble. Whoever that witch was, she was planning on using his own foul creations against him.

His first thought was to alert the other Digidestined but he realized with a sickening pang that he couldn't.

He didn't know them. And all they knew of him was an evil, sinister being. He knew without a doubt that they would not believe them, nor would he ever get close enough to tell them in the first place.

Loneliness washed over him not for the first time. He was alone. Utterly alone and useless to do anything about it. Tears gathered in his violet eyes.

Leafmon didn't deserve him. He had kicked, abused, torn apart his partner. And he came back to him.

Ken glanced down at Leafmon, who had luckily been able to fall back into sleep, and was currently tucked underneath the pillow.

"I don't deserve you," he whispered brokenly, stroking the barely visible leaf on the creature's head.

He scrambled out of bed, quietly avoiding waking up Leafmon, and made his way to his bathroom. He stepped out of his clothes and twisted the shower knob to scalding hot water before stepping in.

He winced as the water stabbed his skin and he just sat in the tub, knees pulled to his chest, silent tears rolling down his face and mixing with the droplets.

He was evil. A terrible person. He had wished on his brother's death. Wish granted. Wished to control and master poor, innocent creatures. Another wish granted.

And now all he wanted was to disappear himself. But it looked like fate wasn't letting him go that easy.

Leafmon had to hate him. Had to. Everyone else did. Or maybe he just felt sorry for him. But Ken had no idea why. He had whipped his digimon. He had kicked, spat, and abused his partner.

Where was his repercussion? Self-loathing overcame him and he mindlessly stepped out of the still steaming water and rummaged through the bathroom cabinets.

Tears blurred his vision as he used his hands to feel through the contents until his hand came across a small pair of nail scissors.

Before he came to his senses, he was sitting against the wall of the shower again with three angry red slashes across his delicate wrist.

_You're evil._

No, I'm not.

_You tortured all those innocent Digimon for your own sick pleasure._

I didn't know better.

And now look at yourself. Pathetic. You have no friends. Leafmon, your parents, they all just feel sorry for you. You don't mean anything to them. Not your precious digimon, not your mommy or daddy, and not the digidestined. You are alone.

I'm alone.

Worthless.

I'm worthless.

You should just end it all here. Yeah, right there. The jugular bleeds the fastest…

"Ken?"

The small voice broke him abruptly out of his reverie and he gasped at the sight before him. Watered down blood ran freely from his now cold skin. Goosebumps dotted his arms and he realized that the water had long turned cold.

Scared of his intentions, he threw the silver weapon across the bathroom, disgusted with himself. He really was pathetic.

"Ken?" It sounded really worried now.

"Just g-go back to b-bed Leafmon. I'm f-fine." He gasped as he stood and turned the shower off. His wounds had already begun to scab over. He stumbled out of the tub and threw a towel around his shivering body.

He cupped his stinging wrist, applying pressure to the cuts and managed to arrange the bathroom to look as if this incident had never happened. He stored the bloody scissors deep in the back of the drawers.

Trying to control the shaking of his body, he opened the door and found Leafmon sitting outside of the bathroom door, eyes wide.

"I woke up and you were gone," the digimon whimpered. Ken frowned and picked up the larva and brought him to his chest.

"I'm sorry, Leafmon. I didn't mean to scare you. I couldn't sleep," He comforted his partner, trying to ignore the dull ache in his wrist.

"It's all right Ken. I was just worried about you."

"Why?"

Leafmon blinked at him. "Because you're my best friend, Ken," he squeaked. "I know you're upset about everything that has happened. But that doesn't change the way I feel about you. I love you Ken."

At his response, Ken promptly burst into tears. "You're too good for me."

Determined to prove his partner wrong, Leafmon bounced onto his shoulder and nuzzled his neck affectionately.

"Please don't cry, Ken."

Ken brought his injured hand up to hold Leafmon closer when the digimon caught a glance at the angry marks.

"You're hurt!"

Ken started violently and tucked his hand to his chest. "It was an accident, Leafmon. I just wasn't paying attention."

Leafmon looked at him suspiciously but didn't question him further. "Are you okay?"

The teen nodded dismissively and led them to his bedroom once again to lie down. He scooped Leafmon onto the bed and dried his body off.

His mind wandered again. The cuts barely stung but the intentions behind them frightened him. Had he fallen so far that he couldn't even fight anymore? He begged the villagers to forgive him and to find Wormmon's egg.

He was fighting to ignore the sickening feeling that he had every time he ate something so as to not worry his family. And now he needed to fight to keep Leafmon happy. His partner had forgiven him without hesitation and it was selfish to do this to himself.

Leafmon's words from earlier hit him hard, the digimon wondering if he would ever return back to the digital world. If this was what he needed to do to make Leafmon happier, he would do it.

Ken crawled back into bed and settled down for the third time that night. "Hey Leafmon?"

"Hmm?" The digimon once again made himself comfortable against Ken's warming body.

"What do you think about going back to the digital world? You know, maybe we can figure out what that lady was talking about with the c-control spires. Whatever she's planning, it can't be good," he said thoughtfully.

"I think it's a great idea, Ken. But we don't have to go back until you're ready."

Ken shook his head, determination to take care of Leafmon and to make sure that no one else used his evil creations to ruin the digiworld more than he had already.

He pulled the covers underneath his chin and with a newfound determination, despite the pain of confronting his past, the pain in his heart, and the ache in his wrist, turned to Leafmon.

"I want to go back tomorrow."

...

End of Chapter 1. Please review. It only takes a few seconds!


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Road To Redemption

Description: Ken has a lot to make up for the mistakes he's made in the past. But gaining the other digidestineds' trust is not as easy as it seems and Ken is slowly losing faith.

Ratings: T for violence, swearing, and some trigger warnings. Some self-harm and depressing themes.

Disclaimers: I do not own Digimon or any of its affiliated characters, nor do I own any of the plot line. This is a darker take on Season 2, focusing on Ken's part. Takes place after 'Genius of Evil' and carries on throughout the remainder of the season.

**chromate**: I'm not sure how dark it's going to get. I usually write mostly angst but I've written a lot darker than this before, but I don't think its going to get too crazy. Thank you as well for the review! I really appreciate it.

...

By mid-afternoon, Ken had readied himself to go back to the digital world. He had a restless night and he couldn't keep from mulling over what the strange woman or digimon or whatever she was had said to him.

After he woke up from the restless night and a barely eaten late breakfast, he grabbed his black D3 that he had hidden in the back of the drawer of his desk, sure that he wouldn't be needing it any time soon. He washed up and dressed, carefully watching the healing cuts on his wrist.

He found that he did not feel guilty about the harm he had done to himself. He deserved it. He deserved as much pain as he had cost everyone else.

"Leafmon, are you ready?" He asked, pocketing his D3. He reached back into the desk for the tiny crest of kindness that had been deemed his. It still didn't seem fitting.

_I'm anything but kind._ He thought to himself sadly. It had to have been a mistake. But he slid that too into his pocket and his hand lingered on it for a long moment.

"Course I am!" The baby digimon chirped excitedly from his spot on Ken's pillow. He bounced up and down. It brought the slight smile to Ken's face again and that couldn't have made Leafmon any happier.

"All right, let's go." Leafmon bounded onto the teen's shoulder as he opened his laptop and pulled out his digivice. "It's time to figure out what that wicked lady was planning. We aren't ever going to let those evil spires hurt anymore digimon again," Ken vowed, reassuring himself of their trip.

Leafmon smiled happily as they duo felt the world around them spin suddenly and a rush of air that made their stomachs plummet and as they opened their eyes, they were met with a pink and blue clouded sky and a sea of forests.

Ken took a deep breath, steadying himself on his feet as he and his partner recovered from the trip. It was slightly nervewracking, returning to the digiworld. Although he had already been there, he couldn't quite remember anything about it other than finding Wormmon's baby form in Primary Village and the hostile encounter he had even with the baby digimon.

He shuddered slightly and it caused Leafmon to nuzzle his neck. "I'll protect you Ken," He said as if he could read the teen's mind.

Ken smiled sideways at him and let himself relax.

"All right. The first thing to do is try and figure out what that lady meant about my control spires."

Leafmon nodded. "Which means we need to find one first."

They started trekking through the forest, glancing every now and then towards the sky in hopes of catching a glimpse of the tall black structures. They didn't speak for a while, choosing to walk in companioned silence.

Every now and then Ken glanced at his D3 where sets of dots appeared, indicating the other digidestineds' arrival to the digital world. He bit his lip and slightly changed route to avoid them, something Leafmon, ever perceptive, caught on quickly.

"Ken, why are we going in a big circle?"

Ken stopped and sighed, lifting Leafmon from his shoulder and holding him. "I don't know if I can face the others yet," He admitted. He couldn't get much by his digimon.

"Maybe, but you know they're trying to do the same thing you are, right?"

Ken's eyes widened. He hadn't really thought about that. "I guess so…"

The others had been at it long before he had decided to: fixing and cleaning up the mess he made.

"Why don't we just go and see?" Leafmon asked, turning up to look at Ken. "There aren't any control spires over here anyways."

Ken stared at the sky, quiet for a few minutes, before letting out a soft sigh and nodding his head in agreement. "Okay."

They changed directions and headed straight towards where the others were located. After walking for a good fifteen minutes, they noticed the trees began to clear.

He started hearing sounds emitting from a valley and nerves starting making him feel slightly nauseas. They came to the edge of the forest where rocky cliffs surrounded Primary Village.

And as Ken looked beyond the village on the other side of the rocks, standing tall and menacing, was one of the ominous control spires.

The noises he realized were coming from not only the villagers but the digidestined and their digimon.

Still scared to alert them of his presence, he hid behind one of the trees overlooking the village and just watched.

ExVeemon was carrying piles of wooden planks; he could see Kairi and Yolei in the distance painting some of the makeshift homes of the digimon villagers. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon and Halsemon were all flying through the air, carrying more wood towards the rest of the team who were all helping out in some way to rebuild the devastated village.

Guilt ripped through the indigo-haired teen. He had caused all of this destruction. He had destroyed these digimons' homes and lives. Tears gathered at the corners of his eyes but he hurriedly blinked them back before Leafmon noticed.

It was almost nearing sunset over Primary Village, an indication of just how long and far Ken and Leafmon had gone before the teen gathered the courage to seek out the others.

All of the digimon had devolved to their normal evolutions and now the group was standing close to the same area he was, admiring their work.

Scared that they were going to see him, he ducked further into the trees, not ready to face them yet.

Leafmon looked as if he wanted to protest but the voices of the other teens drifted towards their hideout, echoing from the valley.

"Well that was a good day's work!" Davis' voice could be heard over all the others.

"Yeah! Good work everyone!" Yolei followed.

Kairi added something that Ken couldn't quite hear and then suddenly Yolei and Davis were bickering loudly, drowning out everyone else's voice.

Ken looked wontedly at the two. Even petty fighting seemed like it was one of those things that made their group so tight. They were all best friends. Something he would never know.

"Boy that jerk really left the digital world in a real mess, didn't he?"

Ice seized Ken's heart suddenly as T.K.'s words floated through the air.

"You gotta wonder, what is he up to now?" Kairi questioned. "Is he just playing with us so we'll think he's changed?"

The tears that had been pulled back began running freely now. Ken's heart started hurting but he wasn't sure why. He should have expected that reaction from them.

"If he was he'd be here just like us cleaning this place up!"

Davis again. For some reason, this tore at Ken more than anything else the others had to say. Davis was the one who had reasoned with him, who had tried to get him to join them right after Wormmon had died. Had also reminded Ken that there were still people who wanted him, who loved him.

It was all just talk. They didn't believe Ken would be a good he was stupid enough to believe that they could think otherwise. A sob ripped from his throat and he clapped a hand to his mouth as he sobbed against the tree. He shouldn't have come.

"But Ken's not coming back to the digital world, is he?"

"I don't think even if he did that the digimon could ever forgive him for the things he did."

"That's for sure!" Cody's voice. The loudest and most menacing.

There was no way that he was ever going to be forgiven for the things he had done. And there was no chance that the digidestined were going to let him join them. The crest of kindness couldn't have belonged to him.

He was dirty. Worthless. Evil. Alone. So alone. He curled himself into a ball and shoved his head into his knees and cried, ignoring Leafmon' s attempts to comfort him.

He grabbed at his hair, his entire body shaking. He was no good. He was a bad person. He had done unforgiveable things.

His fingers begin to dog into his scalp and that worried Leafmon even more. The last time Ken had cried uncontrollably, he had hurt himself. Leafmon may have not understood what Ken had done or why he had done it, but he knew that it what happened last night was not an accident.

"I'm so s-stupid, L-leafmon. I s-should have k-known. I can't ever b-be one o-of them. I'm a n-no g-good, worthless, e-evil p-person!" He sobbed, finally raising his head from his knees.

"No, you're not, Ken. You're a good person. You have to start believing that."

Ken just shook his head miserably, his sobs fading slowly. It was near dark by now and the other digidestined had long gone home, completely unaware of the guilt twisting his insides and eating him from the inside out.

"T-this was a mistake, Leafmon. I-I s-shouldn't be here. Can we p-please just…just go home?"

Leafmon nodded sadly and it only increased the pain Ken was experiencing. He knew he was disappointing his partner, but it was too soon.

He wasn't strong enough to face his demons. Now or ever. Sniffing and rubbing his swollen eyes, Ken slowly got to his feet, his muscles protesting. He didn't pick up the small digimon as he staggered away from the tree and turning his back on Primary village.

Leafmon followed dutifully. He didn't try to talk Ken out of leaving. He knew it would do no good. The poor kid was taking everything straight to his heart and using the words as weapons against his own being.

Ken thought he had to be punished. And until he accepted himself, Leafmon wasn't sure if he could accept everything else.

In the teen's attempt to escape the digidestined, he had found himself suddenly lost somewhere in the dense forest. Ken either didn't notice or didn't care that he was lost because he didn't acknowledge it. He kept his head down, occasionally sniffing and rubbing his eyes.

That was until Leafmon looked up and gasped, head butting the teen in the side to push him behind more foliage. Ken landed hard and looked questioningly at his digimon, but the look on Leafmon's face told him all he needed to know.

There was a circular clearing in the forest where a river cut through, and there, looming over the treetops, was another control spire.

And standing next to the large tower was the same woman who had been in his room the previous night. Broken out of his self-loathing, Ken made sure he and Leafmon were completely concealed and he watched intently to the woman.

She seemed to be talking to herself. And she brought a gloved hand up as if to scratch her head and pulled a long white hair from her scalp.

Ken rubbed his eyes to clear the tears and put a finger to his lips before crouching closer to the tower, followed closely behind by Leafmon. The control spire lit up, blinding them for a moment and then a medium-sized digimon appeared.

It was four-legged and blue and red with nine sharp tails sticking out of its back.

Ken's eyes widened and he stifled a gasp. The woman had just created a digimon out of his control spire. Ken didn't need to be a genius to know that a digimon made from a dark, control spire did not mean anything good.

"Leafmon, who is that?" The teen asked in a hushed voice.

"That's Elecmon!"

The woman glanced their way for a few seconds and then muttered at the digimon and then she disappeared as quickly as she came and the Elecmon looked up suddenly, electric blue eyes narrowed straight at where the duo were hiding.

"Leafmon, we should go-"

Before the words fully left his mouth, the digimon charged at the duo, sparks shooting from his body.

Ken scrambled backwards, grabbing Leafmon roughly and turning on his heel. He wasn't called 'The Rocket' for nothing as he took off. What looked like bolts of lightning crashed into the trees around them, narrowly missing the teen and his digimon.

"Elecmon aren't usually violent," Leafmon said, looking over Ken's shoulder as they ran.

"They usually aren't made by control spires either," Ken panted. Suddenly pain ripped across his back and he staggered, falling face first into the dirt and scraping his hands.

He cried out and his grip on Leafmon gave and the tiny digimon too went tumbling. Elecmon's shot had finally found its target. Ken crawled backwards, fear taking hold of him.

Elecmon's eyes were sharp and beady, nothing like what a normal digimon's eyes should. They were evil. Pure evil like the control spire he was made of.

"Sparkling Thunder" The digimon growled, blasts of lightning erupting from his body again, aimed right at the old Kaiser. Ken yelped as sparks flickered hotly against his skin as he struggled to dodge the strikes.

"Leafmon!"

The baby digimon came out of nowhere and slammed his tiny body into the Elecmon, making him misfire away from the cowering teen. The mammal-like digimon roared and began focusing his attention on his attacker.

Ken watched in horrid fascination as the two came at each other. Leafmon could only dodge the bolts of thunder, which were getting more erratic and dangerous at the Elecmon became angrier.

The little guy was doing good until once more Elecmon managed to hit his target once more and Leafmon flew backwards, hitting a thick tree and falling limply to the ground.

"No!" Memories seized Ken and his heart nearly stopped as a picture of Wormmon sacrificing himself played across his mind. No. He couldn't lose his digimon again. Not his only friend. The only one who had ever stayed by his side.

The last time this had happened, he had watched and could have cared less. But this time…

A white flash shot through the air straight for the tiny digimon and Ken didn't even think. He pushed off the ground and threw himself over Leafmon, barely able to conceal his partner before the lightning struck his body, ripping pain through his body once more and leaving him breathless.

All at once a series of events occurred. The small crest hidden away in his pocket glowed a bright pink. His D3 went off. And suddenly the tiny, round digimon underneath his body grew…and grew…

"Leafmon digivolve to…Wormmon! Wormmon digivolve to Stingmon!"

The dark green insect appeared and Ken was pushed back on his hunches, stunned. The pain dulled and he forgot about currently being under attack by a rogue digimon.

"S-Stingmon?" He gasped in disbelief.

"I'll protect you, Ken." The insect digimon stood to his full height, towering over Ken, four glasslike wings expanding from his back.

Ken couldn't speak. He gulped and only nodded as Leafmon's champion form returned his attention on the still raging Elecmon.

"Stand back, Ken," He ordered, placing himself between his partner and their attacker.

Wasting no time, Stingmon flew into the air, aiming straight for Elecmon. "Lightning strike!" White engulfed the clearing and Ken found himself pressed as tightly against the tree as he could. His entire being was shaking and he prayed that Leafmon- no, Stingmon- would be okay.

He closed his eyes tightly, willing himself to breathe and he sank into the ground. Whooshing sounds bellowed in his ears and the sounds of bodies slamming into each other. Whimpers of pain. A loud screech. Then silence…

Ken huddled closer to the tree it that was at all possible and he curled into a ball, covering his head with his hands, trying to control his shaking.

The silence was deafening. The earth shook only slightly beneath his body and he looked up, indigo eyes wide and terrified that he was going to be facing the evil spire-made creature.

Instead, he looked into the large, red, and kind eyes of Stingmon. The insect crouched down and placed a deadly set of claws gently on the boy's shaking shoulders. Ken watched as slowly, the claws receded into smaller, reddish-pink stubs.

His wing disappeared and two bouncing antennas appeared and suddenly, Ken was looking into the warm blue eyes of his beloved best friend.

"W-Wormmon!"

"Of course its me Ken!" The bug cocked his head. "Wormmon!" Ken lunged at the green digimon and pulled him into a suffocating hug.

"Wormmon. It's really you!" He held him at arm's length, studying him to make sure there were no injuries from his previous battle.

Satisfied, he lowered his arms. "You…you digivolved."

Wormmon nodded joyfully. "You helped me, Ken."

"I did?"

The bug closed his eyes and hummed happily. "Mhmm. You put yourself in danger in order to save me. That must have been what made me digivolve into my champion level."

Ken absentmindedly stoked his partner's head as he listened intently. "My digivice and my-my crest. They both started glowing at the same time," he murmured, reaching into his pocket and retrieving the tiny emblem.

"It was your kindness, Ken."

The boy sighed as his partner once again brought up his crest. He still didn't honestly believe that it should have belonged to him. But there was a small glimmer of hope that came from the fact that if what Wormmon claimed was true, his crest had somehow aided him to digivolve.

"I just can't believe you're finally back," he whispered.

"And I'm never leaving again," The insect promised. This earned another shadow of a smile across his partner's face. Ken slowly got to his feet, ignoring the cry of protest his aching body was giving him.

"What happened to Elecmon?" He asked curiously.

Wormmon looked sadly at the scorch marks layered against the trees from the scathing battle. "He was destroyed. But you have to realize," he started quickly, seeing the shock in Ken's face, "he was not a digimon. He was a control spire."

Ken's eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. "So he wasn't real?"

"In a way he was, but he is not a true digimon."

It was hard to describe and Ken realized that it was something he was just going to have to accept.

"So now what do we do?"

"Well, first we should go home!" Wormmon pronounced. "After all that fighting, I'm starved."

Ken deadpanned and let a small chuckle escape past his lips. "Something tells me I'm going to have to start taking seconds just so mama won't notice all the food that's going to be disappearing."

Wormmon hummed happily and latched himself onto the teen's leg. It was something he had never done without receiving a kick to the head. For one moment, Ken froze. He still didn't understand the unconditional compassion his partner was showing him even after everything that had happened.

But after the moment's hesitation, he reached down and scooped him up and carried him in his arms. "Let's go home. We can decide what to do after a good night's rest."

...

However, a good night's rest was not in fate's plan for Ken. He had managed to sneak Wormmon into his apartment without his parents knowing and forced himself to eat dinner.

It was a slightly awkward affair. Ken wasn't sure how to act around his parents anymore. He had always been Sam's shadow, doing whatever he did and copying him like any younger sibling would that looked up to their elders.

But even after Sam's death, stricken, Ken became a carbon copy of his brother and more. He excelled in everything he did and shut away his parents. They had shunned him in favor of his brother and he was only returning the favor.

Wormmon was the only one who truly saw behind the mask. Behind the dark goggles of the digimon emperor and behind the cold loner he had become. He saw the fragile, severly depressed and ostracized boy who was trying to make amends.

Ken still wasn't eating well, although he tried for the sake of his parents. It was like when he wasn't keeping busy at school, soccer practice, or the digital world, guilt and sadness stepped in.

He prepared for bed, showered, brushed his teeth, and clambered into bed. Wormmon didn't quite fit in his arms as well as Leafmon, but he draped an arm around the insect digimon and let him burrow into the crook of his elbow.

He was in a bit of pain from the attack earlier and terribly exhausted and he fell asleep almost immediately. Wormmon rested his large head against his partner's chest, feeling the steady heartbeat.

All was quiet until early morning when Wormmon was suddenly awakened by frightened whimpers.

He blinked heavily and noticed that the sheets felt damp. And the body next to him was flailing wildly. And the scared noises were coming from Ken.

Wormmon was fully awake now as he skittered next to the boy's head and attempted to wake him.

Unintelligible noises came from his lips and his eyebrows were furrowed deeply. He was kicking and swinging his arms and when Wormmon touched his face he found that his skin was ice cold.

"Ken!"

The teen's indigo eyes flew open and he shot upright in bed, his thin frame shaking. "W-wormmon?" He gasped, arms curling around himself as he shivered.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"It was j-just a bad dream," He stuttered.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Wormmon met his eyes. Scared. Pained.

Ken shook his head violently and the insect sighed. Ken was closing himself off again. The digimon nuzzled the boy's side and waited for his erratic breathing to return to normal.

Ken pulled his knees to his chest and stared across his room, indigo eyes vacant for several long moments before he seemed to snap out of it. He touched Wormmon's head gently and then felt the sheets beneath them.

They were soaked in his sweat. "I'm going to change these and clean up," He said hoarsely. Wormmon only nodded and maneuvered around the bed while he changed the sheets and locked himself in the bathroom.

Away from Wormmon's prying eyes, he huddled in the corner of the bathroom, his nightmares plaguing his mind.

'I wish Sam would disappear…"

_Sam's body falling through the air. A shriek followed by squealing metal. _

_2 Months later, a couple huddled together on the couch, crying. A small child peeking out of his room, dark hair covering wide eyes. _

_There was anger. Frustration. Guilt. So much guilt._

_The scene changed. Sand whipping his face. Heat burrowing in his bones. A stabbing pain in the back of his neck. A pain so severe it made him violently sick._

_Comforting hands moving the hair plastered to his forehead. Words of worry. Someone actually worried about him. Everything was hazy. He couldn't focus. He couldn't make out faces or voices. _

_Another change of scenery. There was pain. Agonizing, bone-crippling pain. He opened his mouth to scream but nothing came out. His vision cleared and he realized he was chained._

_And surrounded by the other seven digidestined…Their faces were darkened with scowls. The second thing he realized was he was dressed as the emperor._

_Panic clutched his heart. This isn't me. I am not the emperor anymore. He opened his mouth once more to try to explain but a whip cracked against his back and the pain silenced him._

_More blows crashed down on him and he couldn't feel anything but mind-numbing pain. The digidestined stood across from him, smirking, laughing. This is what you deserve. You are a murderer. _

_You murdered your brother. Then you attacked helpless digimon. _

_N-no. He shook his head, tears streaming down his face. P-please. I d-didn't mean to. I swear I didn't know!_

_A familiar face came into view and he gasped, hope swelling in him. Wormmon, h-help me. Please._

_The insect crawled towards him, eyes glaring and his blood ran cold. _

_You want me to help you? You disgust me. After all the things you've done to me…_

_You've punched me. Kicked me. Abused Me. The digimon emphasized each verbal attack with a body slam of his own into the skinny teen. _

_His heart broke. Ripped apart and started bleeding. Wormmon was attacking him. His only friend…_

_I HATE YOU. _

_I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!_

_You're a terrible person. All of those horrible things you've done. Did you really believe that any of us could forgive you? You're pathetic. _

_Pathetic. Disgusting. I hate you._

_W-wormmon, please. _

_The insect's eyes blazed red and he lunged forward…_

Pain seared down his arms and Ken broke abruptly from his daze. The scissors were in his hand again. He wasn't sure how he had gotten them. Eight deep gashes were embedded into his arm, joining the three scabbed ones.

And strangely, he wasn't disgusted with himself. It had felt…good. Good to hurt himself, punish himself for the evil deeds he had done. His heart was hammering and it was slowly returning back to normal.

Composing himself, Ken cleaned the marks on his wrist and put the small blades into the drawer, not bothering to hide them this time. He knew Wormmon was worried about him.

He climbed quietly back into bed and pulled the larva into his arms, still shaken from his nightmare.

"You should hate me, you know," he finally whispered, tears pricking the corners of his eyes as he rocked back and forth.

He felt Wormmon shake his head in protest. "I could never hate you Ken."

The teen bit back a sob and he squeezed him tighter. "Am I a bad person?"

"No Ken. You're not."

Silence enveloped the two and Wormmon waited patiently for his partner to eventually cry himself into an exhausted sleep. He was extremely worried. Ken was slowly falling apart.

He needed the others. He needed his conscience cleared. And he needed the opportunity to prove his worth to the others. Before he seriously hurt himself. He had to start believing that he was a good person.

Wormmon had known it all along. But the weight of his actions as the Digimon Emperor was crippling him. He didn't know how much work they were going to have to do before Ken started changing his mind about his image.

He just hoped it wouldn't take too long. At this rate, Ken was unraveling faster than he could keep track of.

...

Some of them couldn't digivolve, Ken noted dully. It was strange. They all could do it the previous day and the control spires were still up.

Wormmon had digivolved twice from his baby form. They had been in danger though. But it had also been after that woman had already warped the control spire.

They still weren't completely sure what was going on, but Ken had managed to get Wormmon to digivolve and they had spent the early morning destroying control spires before they could be used again.

It was nearing lunchtime and the duo had chosen to relax on the edge of the same forest that surrounded Primary Village. Ken's D3 lighted up with dots indicating the other digidestined and after his last encounter, he wasn't thrilled to come up on them again.

Ken sat with his back against a tree and watched Stingmon hover between trees. Neither of them had said a word about last night. The only evidence of it was hidden beneath his sleeve.

But he kept absentmindedly rubbing his aching wrists and he knew Stingmon knew that something was going on but was just giving him space.

Stingmon kept glancing back at the indigo-haired teen. He found himself constantly keeping an eye on the boy. Especially with the episodes he was starting to have.

He may not fully understand what Ken was doing or why he was doing it, but he knew his devastated partner was purposefully hurting himself.

Ken let his eyes flutter shut as he relaxed in the shade. He was sleep-deprived and for some reason, being in the digital world was becoming an escape once more for him.

His relaxation was cut short when the ground started rattling. "What's going on?" His violet eyes sought out his digimon and the insect hoisted him on his back and darted out of the trees to the clearing.

A small, round digimon was attacking Ankylomon, the golden stegosaurus-like champion form of Armadillomon. "That's Thundermon." Stingmon pointed out, but Ken wasn't paying attention.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the white-haired woman. "Stingmon, it was her again. That's not a real digimon."

Stingmon nodded and flew towards the village, dropping Ken off ontop of one of the buildings. "We have to stop him before he hurts someone!" Ken grounded out.

"Aren't you afraid of what the others will think? They don't know about the control spires yet Ken." Stingmon protested. He didn't think he could stand Ken digging himself a deeper hole.

The ground exploded and Ankylomon and Cody were flung from underground, the smaller teen careening through the blasting rubble.

"We don't have time for that!" The teen said hysterically. "Cody!"

Stingmon reacted before the teen could say anymore and he zoomed into the flying mass of rocks and dirt and caught the digidestined before he spiraled into the deadly rock.

Cody gasped and looked up, mouth wide. "Who are you?"

Stingmon looked down but couldn't answer before the Thundermon attacked. He shot towards the ground, carefully dropping Cody a few feet into the safety of Ankylomon before flipping cleanly through the air to face the spire digimon.

Ken exhaled loudly, thankful that Stingmon reached Cody before something bad had happened. He stepped out of view as the other digidestined rushed through the village to his aid.

"Cody, are you alright?" Kairi asked.

The teen nodded.

"Whoa, who is that?" Davis pointed towards Ankylomon.

"I'm Ankylomon."

"You digivolved?" TK asked in astonishment.

"It's his champion level," Cody explained, "but that's not the problem right now. A Thundermon came out of nowhere and started attacking us for no reason!" He pointed where Stingmon and the tiny ball were zigzagging back and forth.

"But who's the other one?" Davis shouted.

Cody shrugged, "I don't know. But he saved my life."

The digidestined watched in awe as the two fought, dodging the others attacks and swiftly cutting through the air. Suddenly, Stingmon reared back and one of his long white claws glowed bright pink.

"Lightning strike!"

He shot towards the Thundermon and within seconds, had reduced the evil digimon to nothing.

The others gasped in horror. "He-he just killed Thundermon!" Yolei stammered as the large insect turned and headed towards them.

"He just took him out like it was nothing…"

Cody couldn't understand. The digimon had just saved his life only to turn around and completely destroy another digimon. Something wasn't adding up.

"He's headed right towards us, guys," Veemon said uneasily, taking a step behind Davis.

"You are such a weenie," Davis complained.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Hey, look up there!" Kairi interrupted the bickering duo and everyone turned to look across the village square where Stingmon had flown.

A lone figure stepped out form behind the roof of the building.

"Ken?"

The indigo-haired teen caught Wormmon as he was devolved and held him close.

"Ken's back?" TK wondered out loud. "And so is Wormmon."

"Wormmon must have saved Cody," Kairi realized, confusion clouding her brown eyes. None of this made any sense. Ken wasn't supposed to return back to the digital world.

He had gone home. What was he doing back all of a sudden. And most importantly, what was he and Wormmon doing, killing a fellow digimon?

Ken glanced wearily at the other digidestined. He opened his mouth a few times but found he couldn't speak. What would he say that would make them believe him?

Instead, he disappeared back behind the makeshift home and by the time the seven teens managed to make it across the village to where he had been standing, he was gone.

They searched for a few moments but found no trace left of the ex-emperor. "Hey, the control spire is gone!" Cody exclaimed, noticing the black tower was no longer overlooking the ridge surrounding Primary Village.

"You're right."

"But where could it have gone?"

Cody shrugged. He couldn't really think about that right now. His mind was elsewhere. Why had Ken been in the digital world and why had he chosen to help him…

Nothing was making sense. First the spire had been there. Then a rogue digimon had attacked them without provocation. And Ken had appeared out of nowhere with Wormmon who had digivolved.

They saved him then attacked the Thundermon. Disappeared and the control spire was gone. Cody rubbed his temples in frustration. Something was up. Something that had to do with Ken.

And that could not mean anything good.

...

"Ken, why didn't we stay behind with the others?" Wormmon asked as the teen carried him once more through the forest so they could portal back to the real world.

He felt Ken thinking hard about his answer but after ten minutes when he still didn't reply, he tried another approach. "You could have explained to them everything we've figured out. They're not going to think any differently of you if you just let them believe we destroyed Thundermon mercilessly."

Ken sighed. "I know. I just don't think they would believe me. And I'm not going to try and change their minds. They'll believe what they want to believe and nothing's going to change that."

It was a pretty morbid answer. Ken needed reassurance that he was doing the right thing and yet from the very people he needed it from, he was too scared to get it.

"Are you okay?" He asked, quickly changing the subject. "I was afraid you were going to get hurt."

Wormmon sighed in defeat. Ken wasn't ready to face that and he wasn't going to force his partner to.

"I'm fine!" He promised, crawling onto Ken's shoulder and nestling into his neck. He could feel Ken form a hint of a smile but he also knew that it didn't quite reach his eyes.

Ken was digging his own grave. He wanted redemption but he was making it insanely ridiculous for himself to achieve that. He was clearly punishing himself by keeping himself as miserable as possible.

He thought he deserved it and if no one else was going to punish him, then Ken was going to do it himself.

Which he did when they went home, retreating once more to the bathroom. Wormmon poked his head over the teen's bunk and stared at him questioningly. "Are you going to hurt yourself again?" he asked in a small, timid voice.

Ken turned sorrow-filled eyes on him and didn't answer. The way he gingerly climbed into bed nearly an hour later, arms riddled with fresh cuts was answer enough for the worried digimon.

Wormmon could only snuggle against the warm body, offering what he could to his partner.

...

Ta-Da. So Chapter 2 really just covered one single episode. That is ridiculous, if you ask me. I have a feeling this is going to wind up being a lot longer than I thought it was going to be. Anyway, please read and review. It would mean a lot.


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